Allianz Insurance Partners Drone Racing League

11 April 2017 13:50

The Drone Racing League (DRL) is the latest eSports league to sign a deal with a big-name brand to boost its status and help make it one of the events to watch out for the coming years. Allianz, a global insurance brand, has agreed to a five-year deal with the Drone Racing League to become its title sponsor.

The 2017 season will run over six professional races beginning in June, with the winner taking home a whopping six-figure salary. After having over 40million views of its digital content in 2016, 2017 is shaping up to be a huge year for drone racing.

This is not Allianz’s first sports sponsorship deal. They are more famously known for their deal with football club Bayern Munich, which runs until 2023 and is worth approximately $150million. Eventually we could see the same level of sponsorship deals materialise in the eSports world, but for now a five-year deal is almost unprecedented. For their investment, the circuit will be aptly named the ‘Allianz World Championship’.

The DRL is still in its infancy. The sporting body began in January 2016 and has only around 20 staff. In the races, 16 pilots wear VR headsets and race around some of the most famous venues in the world, including the Sun Life Stadium in Miami. The courses are a mixture of gates, poles and corridors surrounded by great big neon lights to guide the pilots through the exceptionally difficult routes. Oh, and did we mention they can travel at approximately 90mph?

Set to air in 75 different countries in 2017, the DRL could soon be a household name. The rise in popularity of drones in the outside world brings with it an appetite to find out who the best pilot is, and that’s the exact reason behind the DRL’s creation.

Fancy yourself as the next big name pilot? Head over to the Drone Racing League’s website and take part in their simulator. The pilot for the Bud Light team in 2017 was selected from an eSports competition held in New York City. It was DRL’s very first eSport competition and surely not their last, so keep your eyes peeled on the eSports.co.uk news page for anymore updates.